Technology

The humanitarian agenda has been dominated by the food crisis which has also been a global affair. Some years ago, the sky rocketing prices of commodities and there shortage was not attracting much attention even with frequent warnings form the aids groups. However, food riots in Africa, Asia, Middle East and the former Soviet Union has brought the crisis on the spotlight. In fact, recent statistics from the United Nations indicate that over 100 million are on the brink of starving. The food crisis is a consequence of a number of factors.

The major contributor of the food crisis is the rapid increase in the demand of protein rich diet like meat in both developing and developed countries. This implies that there is a high demand for land which will be used in the production of grain which can be used to feed cattle. To be specific, reports indicate that world grain production for animals have increased from a low of 10 to 50 since the year 1900.  More reports from the United Nations indicate that meat consumption accounts for 18 of the gas emissions which is way above what is generated by the automobiles.  Shocking statistics have also shown that humans do spend over one third of the grains produced to feed animals at the expenses of their fellow humans (UNCTAD, 2008). In response to this, scientists are offering some piece of advice that if humans can only choose to forego the consumption of meat for a period of twelve months, then this would translate to a reduction in the green house emissions by over 1.5 tons which will have a far reaching effect on the weather patterns and the food crisis. Scientists are also also expressing there concern where they cite that it makes no sense to produce only 100 calorie piece of beef after using 700 calories of grain.

Another major cause of the food crisis is the bio-fuels security act of 2007. The act saw much of the food crops being diverted to the production of the first generation bio-fuels. In fact, statistics indicate that in a year over 100 million tons of grains are diverted to the production of fuel. The impact of the use of the bio-fuels has impacted much on the developing and the least developed countries whose economies have been dominated by food imports from the well off countries. A research conducted by the World Bank indicated that production of bio-fuels in both Europe and the United States had a direct impact in the food crisis and the soaring prices.

Similarly, the food crisis can be explained directly or indirectly by the doubling in the price of fuel in 20072008. Indirectly, the increase in oil prices led to an increase in the cost of transport and the cost of inputs required in agricultural production. Directly, United States, European Union and Brazil responded by seeking  to cash-in on the increased oil prices where they went ahead to offer subsidies in the production of agro fuels at the expense of food production.

Trade liberalization also contributed to the food crisis especially in the developing countries. In that, the free market economies have translated the developing countries to debtor nations who often rely on food imports which are often bought at subsidized rate than what is locally available. The outcome of this is that the local farmers get discouraged and they shift to different activities. Coincidentally, even the subsidized food imports are also not forthcoming since there is a global shortage of food for humans.

Unpredictable weather patterns which are a direct consequence global warming is also another cause of the global food crisis. The current level of industrialization, green house emissions, and emissions from the automobiles has seen the depletion of the ozone layer. Plants are known to be highly sensitive to ozone levels which translate to low yields especially for cereals resulting to a drop in the food production.
 
The strategy of idling crop land also contributed to the food crisis. The United States is known to pay farmers to idle their land. By the year 2007, the amount of idle land was 8. In addition, some arguments about the causes of the food crisis cite that there has been an unprecedented growth in the population which has outdone the grain production. Research has shown that grain production increases at half the rate that of population growth. However, the world Hunger Program executive director is of the opinion that the food production has in the recent past made remarkable growth while population growth has been maintained at a minimum of only 1.14. He is actually of the opinion that there is plenty of food on the shelves but the purchasing power of individuals have been reduced due to inflation which has rocked a large percentage of the global economies.

Winners and losers
In the crisis, a number of parties are bound to benefit at the expense of others. For instance, multinationals which have mastered the art of international trade are to make the best out of the crisis. In that, they will monopolize the food production, processing and the distribution chain. In fact a number of the multinational involved in the sale and distribution of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and seeds are already reaping from the crisis. For instance, Monsanto and Du Pont who are the largest seed companies reported an increase in their profit margins by a whooping 44 and 19 respectively. Their counterparts, Sinochem, who are involved in the production of fertilizer, reported an increase in profits by 95 in the 20062007 financial year.
 In the supply of pesticides, the same companies involved in the distribution of seeds are having an easy ride since they are commanding 84 of the global market. The key players in the seed and fertilizer industry are facilitating the mergers and acquisitions of small firms such that in the long run they will enjoy economies of scale which will ensure that they compete effectively in the global market.

On the other hand, the farmers are the main losers in the crisis since they will have to contend with purchasing their agriculture al inputs at inflated prices. The crisis will also lead to the violation of the rights of framers to keep native seeds. Consumers are also on the receiving end since they have no alternative other than to consume the genetically modified foods which have so far not been approved of their safety in some jurisdictions. This is due to the fact that over 80 of the commercial seeds available in the shelves today are genetically modified.

Solutions
Several solutions have been proposed to curb the food crisis. First, farmers need to focus their attention on the production on food crops for humans rather than using the food crops to feed animals at the expense of humans. Secondly, farmers should also take some time of from the production of bio-fuels. Governments should also consider scrapping of the subsidies associated with their production of bio-fuels.

Animals have been cited to be the largest producer of gas emission which depletes the ozone layer resulting to global warming thus it is recommendable that animal farming should be minimized. Finally, there should be a reorganization of the food distribution systems which are currently in place as well as strengthening the capacity of developing and the least developed countries.